This invention relates to dental cleaning assemblies and more particularly to a dental tool for use in cleaning and polishing teeth.
Modern dental tooth cleaning procedures include the use of a power driven rotary flexible rubber cup which contains a quantity of slightly abrasive tooth cleaning paste.
The cleaning cup, more commonly called a prophy cup, may rotate at speeds of up to 5,000 rpm with the result that the cleaning paste is thrown off by the centrifugal force of the rotating cup. Not only can paste be thrown from the cup during the procedure but saliva and patient blood can likewise be splattered. With the increased concern in dentistry with respect to precluding the sharing of bodily fluids there is a need for an effective method of controlling and isolating this splatter of cleaning paste and patient body fluids. Several protective devices have been provided in the prior art which have purported to contain this splatter but these devices are either ineffective in containing the splatter and/or result in an impacting of the abrasive paste in a manner to impede the operation of the cleaning tool.